Anaheim x2 Review

MY ANAHEIM REVIEW
Lost Highway Tour
April 4-5, 2008

I don’t know where to start. This past weekend was definitely one of the best times of my entire life – two nights of kick-arse BON JOVI rock and roll coupled with great friends, lots of laughter, and a day in Disneyland – what could be better? I know last time I went into incredible detail about everything because it was my first tour show and I was beyond ecstatic; this time I was of course excited and on Cloud 9, but I don’t feel the need to go into everything. ;)

I’ll start with Friday night – after over two years since seeing them last, I was jonesin’ for some Jovi BIG-TIME. Remembering the deafening screams of the crowd and the amazing, incredible experience I had in 6th row center, the energy and excitement before and during, the euphoria at seeing my favorite men IN PERSON just feet away from me, I was hosting a million butterflies as I arrived at the Honda Center again.

I ended up 14th row, Richie’s side – and was not complaining! It could have been better, sure, but it also could have been worse, and I was not upset in the slightest. I made instant friends with the people in my row – they were a lot of fun to have with me, and I was so happy they were as energetic as I was!! As Daughtry finished and excitement was bursting my seams, the house lights finally dimmed and I didn’t stop screaming for the next two hours.

The guys were in GREAT moods, and I had a perfect view of the stage. Though I was on the wrong side of the arena for the platform performances (and Richie surprised everyone by joining Jon on it for IBTFY!), it was worth it because I got some priceless DAVID moments. It was amazing – I stood in the aisle while everyone crammed into the further two sections to see Jon and Richie, and I was trying to get a clear picture of Dave, since you can never get a good shot of him bouncing at the keyboards. After I had snapped the shutter about 5,248 times, he looked up and I KNOW he saw me in the aisle – I think he was surprised that someone was paying attention to him and not the Dynamic Duo over on the other side of the floor! LMAO. I got a few smiles, chuckles, and winks from him, which totally made my night.

The setlist was pretty predictable, but I for one didn’t care in the slightest – I was just happy to see them live again, and I didn’t give a rat’s arse what they played. I just wanted me some Jovi.

I have never heard Jumpin’ Jack Flash live, so it was incredible during Sleep, and if others are sick of it, let me take your place at all of your future shows, because I loved it!

Chris Daughtry joined them for Blaze of Glory, where he promptly screwed up the first verse and elicited and laugh/smile out of Jon.

Jon was flirty, fun, and a major tease during Bad Medicine (the infamous “Sweat Shake” as I call it – where he throws his body from side to side to Tico’s drum beat), and Richie absolutely NAILED These Days. I almost died – it was absolutely the most amazing performance I’ve ever seen. I was choked up and teary, and seriously think I did some vocal damage screaming for him when he was done.

Jon slayed me during KTF with those damn maracas – and I know I’m going to reveal my inexperience with live shows here, but I’ve never seen him throw them up and catch them before! I actually stood there and thought, “How the heck did he do that?!”

Livin’ On A Prayer was fantastic again – one of my very favorites live – as the entire arena explodes into song and everyone on the floor waves their arms back and forth. Lots of energy and power!

The encore was a mere two songs – Saturday Night and Wanted – but ended with Jon’s promise that they’d see us again the next night. I headed back to my hotel physically exhausted, but mentally and emotionally wired and awake; I looked through my pictures with sheer DELIGHT (I’m in love with my new camera), and couldn’t fall asleep until after 4am, filled with excitement for the next night.

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If Friday night was amazing, Saturday night was phenomenal. I was 12th row on the same side (and nearly the same seat number), and as soon as the guys emerged from the shadows and jumped into HEY HEY!, I was back on Cloud 9. I wore my Jovi Soul jersey in honor of that night’s game, and I knew they had won beforehand, so I knew Jon would be happy. And he was. He was incredibly flirtacious and in SUCH a mood – “For you Soul fans, we WON tonight, so I am in a good mood.” And Lord was he.

He welcomed back the second-night attenders – “Who was here last night?” Fans screamed and jumped up and down, making him laugh. “And for those who weren’t – where the hell were you?” He shook his head and smiled, “Oh, that’s right – it was sold-out.”

Bad Name was second as usual, but when the third song started, they got about two chords in before I screamed and made everyone around me wonder if I had just had a heart attack. They were playing GARAGELAND. I have never heard that live, and I was the only one in my entire area who knew what it was. It was amazing, and I LOVED hearing it live! They glided into Just Older from there, and then into Summertime and finally SLEEP, during which Jon really got our blood flowing.

Switching his Jersey accent into high gear, he teased us, “I will warn you - when you're done tonight you're gonna be a sweaty mess.” And then he proceeded to promise us that this was just the “foreplay” part of the show, but not to worry, as he’d be gentle with us. ;)

I nearly died.

We got another surprise – Blood Money – before Blaze (no Chris), Whole Lot of Leavin’, and my all-time favorite – IN THESE ARMS. I got teary-eyed again, and I think that was my favorite performance from both nights, simply because I adore the song through and through. They pumped it up with WGGIGO, It’s My Life, and Bad Medicine, during which Jon did the “Sweaty Shake” again and got everybody on their feet for Shout.

Richie did IBTFY more justice than anyone ever could, and I can’t decide if I liked These Days or that better – he was AMAZING on both. The energy, emotion, passion…Lord that man is incredible.

Jon was solo on the platform that night, and I didn’t get any attention from David :razz:, but if I stood on tip-toe I could see Jon. He did Memory and Strangers (which was very nice to hear live), before returning to the stage for WSYCGH and Won’t Back Down as the intro to HAND again. He killed us all with the maracas on KTF again, and he threw them up at the end and caught them again!

LOAP was phenomenal yet again, and at the end, Jon held the mic stand high in the air for us all to scream the WHOA-OH-OH and teased again, “Come on, now do it like you’re a Bon Jovi fan!” I think my eardrums exploded.

They said good night and went backstage, and I was surprised that people actually started leaving – I was like, HELLO, encore?! But it was their loss. Their incredible loss.

Because Jon came back out to screams and whistles, and slowly walked toward the mic stand, illuminated by a soft blue light and wearing a plain red shirt. The very first note sent shivers up my spine and my jaw dropped before I nearly burst with joy – it was freaking HALLELUJAH. I was dying to hear that live – just the recorded version slays me every time – and I grabbed my camera because I knew I’d get some incredibly photo ops.

How do I sum up that performance in words? I can’t. Nothing can describe the emotion, heart, and pure passion that Jon poured into it – it seemed to radiate from his very soul and fill the entire arena. It’s one of those performances that completely engrosses you and you forget everything and everyone around you; you’re not thinking about anything except the man with the mic and the incredible voice in front of you, his hands moving in slow, passionate desperation that perfectly matches the heavy lyrics. I didn’t even see any of the other band members for those 4 ½ minutes – it was all the lead singer and his captivating song.

The arena exploded with whistles, catcalls, and applause that pounded in my ribs when he was through, and it took a while to adjust to Wanted, which was another hair-raising experience as every single person in the audience rose for the Jovi Anthem.
They ended with I Love This Town and people cheering when they saw familiar landmarks on the screens, and I knew the end was near, so I screamed myself hoarse and clapped and danced until I was trembling with exhaustion. They finished up and took their bows, and they didn’t need introductions like the night before.

Jon thanked Anaheim for two incredible nights, but I say thank you! THANK YOU for such wonderful performances – the energy and personality that permeated the entire two and a half hours each night was enough to make me wish it would last forever. Thank you for playing your hearts out and kicking our a$$es – it was incredible.

Now, bring on Los Angeles, baby.